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CANADA: Where are you pre-ordering/getting your iPhone 5?

U

username008

macrumors regular
Original poster
Oct 9, 2011
127
0
Hey Canadians!

Since on the Apple.com website we are only able to make pre orders if we are buying the iPhone 5 outright... what about those of you who are upgrading your phone plans?

Are you going to be preordering/reserving with your carrier? (i.e Rogers, Telus, Fido, etc.)

Are you going to line up at the Apple store/Carrier store/Best Buy and upgrade there?

Or, are you still going buy the phone outright either by lining up at the store or preordering on September 14th.

Thanks!
 
Uncertain where I would get iPhone 5, I'm on Fido without a contract, my friend is on Rogers without a contract, we have not had very good experiences with either provider, so we could both move to another company (maybe Telus).

Buying an unlocked phone direct from Apple looks interesting but the wireless provider companies don't seem to reduce the monthly bill much, if at all, even though this saves them $400 or more since they have no phone to subsidize. I suspect the only people who benefit from buying their own phone are people who travel internationally a lot and to avoid roaming fees they just buy a Sim card and short-term usage plan in their destination country.
 
I wanted to buy it direct from Apple via pre-order but I'm worried that nano SIMs will be hard to get on launch day. I feel like carriers will try to hold on to as many as they can in order to supply the number of phones they'll be selling to customers at the store itself.

I'll probably pre-order it from Apple and see what the carriers (specifically for me, TELUS) will do. That way I'm covered. I know TELUS announced their new pre-order option earlier this week but it's not on the site anymore.
 
I'm still trying to decide if I'm going to upgrade (I have the 4S), but if I do I'll be preordering on Apple's website. I want it unlocked, and we don't have an Apple Store in St. John's, NL. My 4S is unlocked, and I'm on a month-to-month plan with Telus.
 
I'm planning on pre-ordering from Apple. I'm with Virgin and I'm just hoping I'll be able to get a nano sim on launch day without any trouble.
 
MVallee said:
I'm planning on pre-ordering from Apple. I'm with Virgin and I'm just hoping I'll be able to get a nano sim on launch day without any trouble.
Click to expand...


Traditionally, Apple has shipped a SIM card of your choice of carrier with your iPhone pre-order. You just have to call it in and activate.
 
MVallee said:
I'm planning on pre-ordering from Apple. I'm with Virgin and I'm just hoping I'll be able to get a nano sim on launch day without any trouble.
Click to expand...

Im planning on buying one at the Apple Store. Also with Virgin Mobile, and Im hoping Apple will have Nano-Sims for each carrier.
 
Can you preorder at the Apple Store if you plan on signing a contract?

Last year I preordered my 4S directly with Fido on Fido.ca but only got it about 2 weeks after launch even though I was one of the first in line for all Canada.

I though it was pretty disgusting that people without a reservation had priority over people who had one, especially since I had to give a deposit.
 
pgiguere1 said:
Can you preorder at the Apple Store if you plan on signing a contract?

Last year I preordered my 4S directly with Fido on Fido.ca but only got it about 2 weeks after launch even though I was one of the first in line for all Canada.

I though it was pretty disgusting that people without a reservation had priority over people who had one, especially since I had to give a deposit.
Click to expand...

Preorders online from the Apple Store in Canada are full price unlocked only. You can get it on launch day with a contract if you want to line up at a physical Apple Store. That being said...lately Apple hasn't been running out of stock on launch day, usually a day or two later. You might get lucky strolling in later in the evening, but lining up is a guarantee!

I agree that the ordering process that the carriers use is horribly unfriendly and unclear as to when you'll actually receive the device. Lining up at carrier stores can be a crapshoot too, since they get a tiny fraction of stock compared to an Apple Store, if any at all.
 
MikeNemat said:
Preorders online from the Apple Store in Canada are full price unlocked only. You can get it on launch day with a contract if you want to line up at a physical Apple Store. That being said...lately Apple hasn't been running out of stock on launch day, usually a day or two later. You might get lucky strolling in later in the evening, but lining up is a guarantee!

I agree that the ordering process that the carriers use is horribly unfriendly and unclear as to when you'll actually receive the device. Lining up at carrier stores can be a crapshoot too, since they get a tiny fraction of stock compared to an Apple Store, if any at all.
Click to expand...

Yeah, but last time I waited in line at the Apple Store, it waited 10 hours at the iPhone 4 launch. Not because they had insufficient stocks, because every carrier's network was crashing because of the number of new activations. I was there at 5 AM (the store opened at 9) and it was my turn at 3 PM, at the end they were filling forms by hand with a pen. Not the best experience :p.
 
pgiguere1 said:
Yeah, but last time I waited in line at the Apple Store, it waited 10 hours at the iPhone 4 launch. Not because they had insufficient stocks, because every carrier's network was crashing because of the number of new activations. I was there at 5 AM (the store opened at 9) and it was my turn at 3 PM, at the end they were filling forms by hand with a pen. Not the best experience :p.
Click to expand...

LOL I remember that too. Last year with the 4S it was a two minute process to do the carrier upgrade at apple.
 
MikeNemat said:
Traditionally, Apple has shipped a SIM card of your choice of carrier with your iPhone pre-order. You just have to call it in and activate.
Click to expand...

Wait so if I pre-order on Apple.ca and get an unlocked 5, they will still ask what sim I want them to send with it? If so, that would be awesome.
 
MVallee said:
Wait so if I pre-order on Apple.ca and get an unlocked 5, they will still ask what sim I want them to send with it? If so, that would be awesome.
Click to expand...

That's what they did with the iPad, I remember my SIM came in a different package. No way to know 100% if they're doing it for the iPhone until it goes up for preorder but it would make sense. In the Apple Stores, they always let you pick the SIM of your choice for iPhones and iPads, you never have to go to a carrier store.

EDIT: If you go to the online store right now and choose the new iPad with LTE, you'll see that you can pick a SIM from the carrier of your choice. I can only hope they do the same for the iPhone.
 
Last edited:
I'll also be pre-ordering the factory unlocked off the Canadian Apple website. I didn't realize they possibly might send a sim along with it though (this will be my first iPhone).

It is sent separately, correct? They wouldn't do something silly like have it pre-installed on my phone? That being said, are there any opinions on the best value iPhone plans for us Canadian users?
 
MikeNemat said:
That's what they did with the iPad, I remember my SIM came in a different package. No way to know 100% if they're doing it for the iPhone until it goes up for preorder but it would make sense. In the Apple Stores, they always let you pick the SIM of your choice for iPhones and iPads, you never have to go to a carrier store.

EDIT: If you go to the online store right now and choose the new iPad with LTE, you'll see that you can pick a SIM from the carrier of your choice. I can only hope they do the same for the iPhone.
Click to expand...

Yeah you can pick which provider, but it's because the iPad is locked to that carrier.

From their fine print: "Cellular data plan is sold separately. The model you purchase is configured to work with a particular cellular network technology. Check with your carrier for compatibility and cellular data plan availability."

Also, in the FAQs for the iPhone 5: Where can I get a micro-SIM or nano-SIM card?
You can get a micro-SIM or nano-SIM card from any carrier offering iPhone plans.

I'm thinking we're going to need to go to the carrier after receiving the phone from Apple. Sucks.
 
robots3humans0 said:
Yeah you can pick which provider, but it's because the iPad is locked to that carrier.

From their fine print: "Cellular data plan is sold separately. The model you purchase is configured to work with a particular cellular network technology. Check with your carrier for compatibility and cellular data plan availability."
Click to expand...

I think you're wrong here. The iPad is not locked to a carrier. What the fine print says is that it is designed to work with a specific carrier, not locked to a specific carrier. I think this was because of CMDA vs GSM (Rogers and Fido vs Telus and Bell, etc).

m&c
 
mac&cheesey said:
I think you're wrong here. The iPad is not locked to a carrier. What the fine print says is that it is designed to work with a specific carrier, not locked to a specific carrier. I think this was because of CMDA vs GSM (Rogers and Fido vs Telus and Bell, etc).

m&c
Click to expand...

I hope you're right. Maybe just because it's a pre-order with a new SIM standard they'll include them.
 
I asked in the specialist chat on the Apple store website and they said they do not provide sims. You have to make your own arrangements with your carrier.
 
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